Just another Midwestern bowhunter with the buck of lifetime, it seems. He’s grinning ear to ear and why not? You’d smile too if you’d just bagged a 200-inch buck, right? Just one problem: His smile is a lie. Or at least it is according to the Houston County, Minnesota, sheriff, who says the buck was shot by a young man (his name has not been released as charges are still pending) on December 8th in a pen owned by a local deer breeder.The man cut a hole in the fence surrounding the enclosure, dragged the buck out and loaded it in his vehicle. The 21-point whitetail sports a net B&C green score of 212 inches. Members of four local law enforcement agencies visited the man’s home to question him about his trophy.

I live a mere 20 miles from the farm where this deer was raised and have driven by it many times. Apparently the shooter registered the buck at a DNR registration station, and then proceeded to show it off around his hometown of Rushford. That, of course, was before area law enforcement officers showed up to investigate. Obviously, there’s a huge local buzz about the killing of this buck and the criminal charges faced by the 19-year-old shooter. Because it was a fenced buck, this is not a violation of Minnesota’s game laws; rather it is an alleged theft and destruction of private property worth many thousands of dollars. At this stage, police, wardens, and the owner of the buck aren’t saying much on the record, as they’re still building a case. I’ll cover the entire story in this space once they’re able to release information to me.